Give a second life to your chicken leftover by making this super easy, cleansing and incredibly tasty Vietnamese Salad. The secret weapon of this recipe is the Nuoc Cham sauce, a sweet & tangy classic Vietnamese dressing made with fish sauce, fresh lime juice (lemon works just fine) garlic, sugar and chili. Used to marinate the chicken and season the salad, the combination of flavor is incredible and the meat of your chicken transforms into a juicy and caramelized beauty. This is one of these recipes you’ll keep forever in your arsenal.
Serves 2
Chicken leftovers (you can make this recipe with raw chicken breast, cut into 2 thin cutlets)
2 carrots
1 heart of romaine lettuce
Half a cucumber
Rice Vermicelli
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 red Thai chili (can be replaced with jalapeno)
2 shallots
6 tbsp lime juice, fresh squeezed (can be replaced with lemon)
4 tbsp maple syrup (or any sweetener of your choice)
1 cup water
5 tbsp fish sauce
Vegetable oil
Crushed cashew nut, for topping
1. Peel 1 garlic clove and finely chop it .
2. Rinse and finely slice 1 red Thai chili.
3. Place into a medium size mixing bowl, chopped garlic, sliced red Thai chili, 3 tbsp of freshly squeezed lime juice, 2 tbsp of maple syrup, 1/2 cup of water (hot if you use granulated sugar) and 2 and 1/2 tbsp fish sauce. Combine.
4. Add chicken leftovers into the sauce and leave it marinating until ready for use.
5. Same process. Peel 1 garlic clove and finely chop it .
6. Rinse and finely slice 1 red Thai chili.
7. Place into a serving bowl, chopped garlic, sliced red Thai chili, 3 tbsp of freshly squeezed lime juice, 2 tbsp of maple syrup, 1/2 cup of water (hot if you use granulated sugar to dissolve it) and 2 and 1/2 tbsp fish sauce.
8. Combine and set aside.
9. Fill a medium size saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add rice vermicelli and cook for a few minutes.
10. Keep cooked vermicelli in water while we prepare the rest of the salad.
11. Wash and chop romaine lettuce leaves. Place it into bowls.
12. Wash and peel carrots, then run the vegetable peeler along each carrot to make thin layers. Place several layers on top of each other, then using a large sharp knife, cut thin slivers out of it. Place it into bowls next to the lettuce.
13. Wash cucumber and cut in thin silvers. Place it into bowls next to the carrots.
14. Drain rice vermicelli and place into bowls in between cucumbers and lettuce.
15. Place a skillet with vegetable oil over high heat. Let it warm up before adding marinated chicken. Sear chicken on each side for 2-3 minutes until well caramelized. Set aside on a chopping board to rest the time to prepare the shallots.
16. Peel and thinly slice shallots.
17. Place vegetable oil into a small saucepan over high heat, then add sliced shallots. Fry for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until shallots turn pale golden brown. Make sure to watch them, once shallots start to color, it goes fast! You don’t want to burn them. Once golden-brown, immediately transfer shallots to a fine-mesh strainer over a large heatproof bowl or medium saucepan.
18. Quickly shake the strainer to allow shallots to separate from each other and become crispy. Set aside.
19. Chop grilled chicken in thin layers, add them to each bowl. Add fried shallots on top.
20. Serve with crushed cashew nuts and Nuoc Cham sauce.
Cheers Xx
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